Career path help question - What do you guys think??

Hey guys, I was wondering if I could get your take/ opinion on my plan.

I graduated this past dec. from Providence College with a MA in Economics. Unfortunately, my internship experience was mainly in CMBS/ Securitization. It also didn’t help that most of my contacting/ networking took place with guys at Lehman and Bear Stearns. So most of my contacts are either still unemployed or have switched industries. Throw the poor economy into the mix, which lead to a poor OCR presence at PC, and I was left with dwindling job prospects. I was able to get a good majority of my interviews from just applying on-line, so either my networking skills suck or I’m doing something right with my cover letter and resume.

I was able to land a job at one of the 3 largest insurance brokers in world on their HR consulting side, which isn’t really consulting at all, but rather a sales-type gig. (Don’t have much of a brand recognition outside of insurance.) Anyway, I was thinking of doing the following:

• Hit up Linkedin and network with as many alums as possible
• Sign up and take the CFA level 1 this Dec.
• Maybe get my Series 7 or other relevant licenses?? – I think my place will sponsor me
• Hit up a headhunter or two to see what’s out there

I was thinking of leveraging the sales experience into an institutional sales gig. Or use the CFA to try and get my foot in the door for equity/ fixed income research. I’ve also heard through the grapevine that conduit desk activity is picking up, so I might try to make another run at that. At this point I’m not picky at all, I just want to get my foot in the door anywhere I can. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Anything else I should do / do differently? I would love your opinions before I jump head first into this. Sorry for the length.